


In the End

by Marieke_things_dreams_and_stuff



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: A pod, And love, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Claustrophobia, Danvers sisters magic, End of season five, F/F, Hurt Kara Danvers, Kara and her many traumas, Kelly is an absolute badass, Lena and Kara talking, Leviathan - Freeform, Luthor mansion, Protective Lena Luthor, Protective Older Sibling Alex Danvers, Sad Kara Danvers, Some conversations I'm sure the show will skip out on, Trauma, Women Being Awesome, Written to wrap up the season, a lot of it sorry, but also fluff, soft Kelly Olsen, some justice for Lena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24188596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marieke_things_dreams_and_stuff/pseuds/Marieke_things_dreams_and_stuff
Summary: End of season five/ post 5x17 and 5x18, but also works post-finale!Lex finds out Lena is double-crossing him, and is determined to finally deal with Supergirl once and for all. He's planned the perfect revenge to make Kara suffer and will not let anything or anyone stand in his way. Using Lena's Non Nocere tech and the Kryptonite Leviathan provided, Lex seems to have everything in his power to finally get his way.Or,Lex's plan is set in motion. He takes his personal revenge on Supergirl. Kara and Alex are hurt and Lena has to save the day.Features:- a phone call with Eliza (because I miss her)- some justice for Lena- Danvers sisters magic
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 42
Kudos: 540





	In the End

It was stupid, Alex thought. She had been stupid. Foolish. Uncharacteristically impulsive. Except, when she’d read the words: Eve Tessmacher killed your father on the note resting by her morning coffee on her counter in her kitchen, she’d seen red. She’d snapped. Simple as that.

She couldn’t even say she’d stood back and thought about what she was doing for more than two seconds before she called Brainy and in a gravelly, cold voice, had asked him to locate Eve for her.

Confused, but loyal to a fault, Brainy had given her an address, and Alex had finished the call before he could even ask her what she needed the information for.

It didn’t matter to Alex that the address had been all-too-familiar. She didn’t care that Eve Tessmacher was at the Luthor mansion. She didn’t care that this was obviously planned by someone who took great pleasure in her rage and bloodlust. She didn’t care about the consequences. All she cared about, Alex realized with grim satisfaction, was seeing the life drain from those dumb, blue eyes, and she could finally, finally do right by her father.

Not that things had worked out.

If Alex had been any smarter, if she hadn’t been so completely, irrationally consumed with grief and pain – deep, burning, cold, hallow pain that made it impossible to breathe sometimes – she would’ve known that it was all a trap. For crying out loud, if Kara had pulled a stunt like that, Alex would probably have dragged her to whatever was left of the D.E.O. by her red cape and given her the shout-down of the century, desperate to know how her sister could’ve been that stupid.

The hypothetical seemed silly now. Bound to a chair in the Luthor mansion, sporting a bruise the size of a tennis ball on her temple, and a throbbing pain behind her eyes to go with it. But sometimes it was easier to think about Kara in a situation like this than to actually go over her own mistakes in the process.

Because she kept circling back to the: ‘how could she have been so incredibly stupid’ question. How could Alex, former director of the D.E.O. Alex, stickler for bureau protocol Alex, five-year winner of the D.E.O. safety protocol test Alex, youngest recruit to the D.E.O. ever Alex, how could that Alex ever have been stupid enough to jump into a trap with both feet, closed eyes, and a pinched nose?

The answer, Alex mused, staring at the obscenely over-the-top decorated high ceiling, was simple. Clearly, her period of mourning wasn’t over yet, and while her body had desperately pretended that the time of pain and crying was over and that she could continue on almost robotically as if nothing had changed, her mind definitely hadn’t processed anything just yet. The thought of getting her hands on the one person who had taken her father away from her – the one person who she could still get her hands on – was so irresistible – so achingly real and possible, Alex could almost feel the warm neck in her hands, waiting to be snapped.

Alex’s hands clenched against the armrests of the chair.

Her murderous rage hadn’t passed yet. While she’d only caught a glance at a terrified-looking Eve, her all-consuming need to kill the other woman hadn’t dissipated at the sight. Alex had wondered – hoped, maybe – that if she could just see the woman for what she was, a pawn in a game she didn’t understand, that maybe, just maybe, Alex could forgive her, and focus her rage on the one person who did deserve it.

Unfortunately, her rage hadn’t shifted from Eve to Lex. It was more like her rage had… expanded. She’d heard women say lovingly at numerous occasions that after they’d had their children, they feared losing the love they felt for their husbands, instead directing it all at their little bundles of joy, but that that fear had been irrational. Their hearts had grown bigger, their love more accessible, equally big for their children and their partners.

Alex thought it was kind of like that. Her situation. But instead of her heart growing bigger, it was more like her mind freed up more of its space, more of its capacity to let her rage grow. Fester. Until she couldn’t think of anything more than killing Eve and Lex slowly, torturously slowly, until the both of them were gone from this world.

Well, at least that was the plan.

Now the plan was mostly to get her hands free from that damned chair without Lex noticing, and then getting the hell out of there before he could launch his project. Whatever it was. She didn’t quite know… yet.

All he had done ever since she’d woken up after having been knocked unconscious when she tried to enter the mansion, was tap away on his weird looking L-pad and mutter quietly as his gleaming eyes stared at multiple screens locked onto the wall.

They’d clearly been placed there just for the occasion, as the modern tech did not, in fact, match the old burgundy wallpaper, and Alex could see darkened, dusty squares peeking up from over the screens, where photos or paintings must’ve hung before Lex dragged all his materials here.

He hadn’t so much as addressed her, too caught up in his own bullshit work.

Normally, this would annoy the crap out of Alex, and she definitely felt more than a little irritated that that bald ass of a man would just have her knocked unconscious, just to pretend like she didn’t exist because she was nothing more than Supergirl’s sister.

But, she reminded herself, this was her opportunity. She needed to get out. Lex was up to something – had been for months – and things were finally coming to fruition. Something was going down in National City while she was sat here, tied to a freaking chair, while her sister remained oblivious to the dangers Lex would unleash upon the world.

Or so she thought.

While Alex was slowly loosening the strings attached to her wrists with trembling fingers – tedious, stress-inducing, exhausting work – careful not to let frustration or fear interrupt her, the door was suddenly blown open, startling Alex so bad she lost the thread that could’ve meant her freedom.

She swore under her breath, but when she looked up angrily to find out who had interrupted her concentration, her eyes widened.

Lena Luthor stormed in, clad in a three-piece scarlet suit, hair high up in a wildly-swinging ponytail and panic written clearly across her face.

“Lex,” she called out, rushing past Alex so fast she didn’t even notice her. Granted, Alex had been obscured by one of the heavy, oak doors, but still.

“Oh God,” Lena came to a stop beside him, panting hard. “Thank God you’re here. Lex, I don’t know what happened!”

She produced her L-pad and furiously started tapping in codes and passports.

“Something is wrong with project Non Nocere. I’ve been locked out! Nothing works anymore. I’ve tried everything from remote access to our satellites – it’s impossible! We must’ve been hacked – I…”

She shook her head, and ran a hand over her head, smoothing down the loose, sweaty strands that twirled around her face.

“I swear, I don’t know what happened. I destroyed the mainframe, but then today I see that the whole thing has started up again. One minute it was fine, and the next – ”

“Lena, Lena,” Lex shushed her. “It’s fine. Take a deep breath.”

He took a hold of her shoulders with an almost-brotherly smile that revolted Alex to her core.

Alex shook her head. No time to think about that right now. She continued her work and started pulling on the threads faster, more feverishly than before. She had to get out.

“No, Lex,” Lena rattled on, confused and disoriented. “I checked on everything this morning, and it was all fine, but now it’s suddenly active again without any – ”

“Lena,” Lex laughed. “Relax! You work too hard! Listen to me,” he said kindly, “it has all been taken care of. I’ve dealt with everything.”

“W-wait,” Lena shook her head, confused, “you knew about this?”

Lex took a step back and gestured to the screen in front of them.

“I noticed the flaw and immediately went to rectify it,” Lex explained. “The system’s up and running and everything is going smoothly. It was a glitch, nothing more.”

“But…” Lena frowned. “It’s not supposed to… You launched Non Nocere?”

“It’s not launched yet!” Lex amended. “But I’m getting it ready, yes. I was just about to call you to come over and send your salvation of mankind up into the world.”

His words shone with unbridled enthusiasm, but it didn’t fool Alex. And it sure as hell wasn’t enough to convince Lena either.

Alex had caught her lucky break! The ties around her hands were loosening, and she finally found the best grip to wriggle them loose.

“I told you it wasn’t possible! I destroyed the mainframe for a reason, Lex! Humans can’t live their lives controlled by a faulty invention!”

“And I wouldn’t force them to,” Lex said gently.

Lena’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“Then what…”

Lena frowned as she connected her device to the screen, eyes scanning all the data, all the input she’d missed that day. Hundreds of alterations she had never seen before. Millions of numbers rolled over the screen, all of them stored away in Lena’s mind as soon as she’d read them.

“The entire code has changed. It has been completely rewritten. This isn’t… this isn’t right.”

She looked up at her brother.

“Lex?”

Lex’s smile tightened, eyes locked on the screen before him. Blue numbers raced over the screen, while another screen showed multiple infographics and satellite information.

“Lex?” Lena tried again, a hint of something akin to fear – maybe disbelief? – in her voice. “Lex, what’s happening?”

“Lena,” Lex sighed deeply before turning to face her once more, “everything is going according to plan. Stop worrying. I’ve got it covered.”

Lena took a tiny step back.

“You’ve got it covered? But I thought – ”

Before Lena could say what she’d been thinking, Alex made the fatal mistake of yanking her hand loose too fast, leaving her unable to stop it from smacking against the hard wooden cabinet beside her.

The loud smack resonated through the room, and both Lex and Lena turned around immediately and fixed their eyes on Alex.

“Oops,” Alex muttered.

“Alex?” Lena exclaimed horrified. “What the hell are you doing here?”

She swung her head around to look at Lex.

“Lex, what the hell is happening?” she asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “What did you do?”

Lex let his eyes linger on Alex for a moment more before he sighed deeply and turned to Lena.

Betrayal was written all across her face, and disbelieving, angry tears shone in her eyes.

“What did you do?” she repeated harshly.

Lex sighed, almost annoyed.

“What should be done, Lena,” he said. “I will always do what is necessary. What should be done.”

“You said this was a partnership,” Lena whispered disbelievingly. “You promised you’d changed.”

Lena hated how childish and hurt she sounded, but couldn’t quite hide the sudden onslaught of feelings overwhelming her.

“Oh, Lena,” Lex sighed. “You never learn, do you?”

He took a menacing step closer to her, and Lena shivered despite herself.

“Did you really think I didn’t know you were double-crossing me?” he asked incredulously. “Did you really think I wouldn’t keep tabs on the blonde alien and her gang of colorful cheerleaders?”

Lena breathed heavily, backing away from her brother as best she could while he kept advancing, taking the terrain like he’d won a field battle.

“You couldn’t just sit back and drink your failure away,” he said harshly. “No, you just had to prove you could take me on. And for what, Lena?”

He tilted his head.

“We both know that I have no equal. There is no match for me. Not Superman, not Supergirl, and certainly not you.”

Lena clenched her jaw. She would not let him win.

“Still,” Lex mused, taking her wrist almost gently in his hand. “That doesn’t mean you don’t serve your purpose.”

Lena frowned, confused, until she felt Lex’s fingers delicately unclasp something around her wrist. Before she could check which bracelet he had so easily made his own, he smirked and dangled something in front of her eyes.

It took her a moment to get it, but her eyes widened when she did finally see it clearly.

“No,” she whispered, right when Lex lifted up the plastic cover of her very specific watch.

Her gifted watch.

“I think it’s about time Supergirl joined us, don’t you think?”

* * *

Kara clutched a hand to her middle, careful not to touch the spear currently lodged in her lower abdomen.

“Crap,” she gritted out, sweat pearling on her forehead as the blue material of her suit stained darker and darker with blood. “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!”

She quickly stole a glance at Gemma Cooper, who was lying down not ten feet from where Kara was sitting up against the wall. Kara couldn’t tell if she was dead or simply unconscious. They’d both gotten quite a few hits and punches in. But as Kara looked down at the staff sticking out of her own body, she thought she could rightfully say that maybe Gemma had been a tad more efficient with her punches.

Kara panted hard as she tried to pull the blue fabric of her suit away from the stick to assess the damage. Her suit made an awful suction sound as it tried to desperately cling to her skin by means of her sticky blood working as some kind of super glue.

She had to get it out.

She knew the tip contained some sort of Kryptonite which, paired with the incredible force behind Gemma’s throw, had caused it to be embedded incredibly deep in her body. If she let the Kryptonite fester, it would only get worse. She had to get it out, then find Alex, then foil Lex’s plans. In that order, preferably.

Earlier that night, she’d gotten a phone call from a near-hysterical Kelly who told her Alex was gone, with only a note on the kitchen table hinting at where she was going. After getting on Alex’s trail, Kara was determined to get to the Luthor mansion to make sure her sister wouldn’t make the biggest mistake of her life but was thrown to the ground before she could even lift off.

Gemma Cooper’s assault had been quick and efficient. Centuries – millennia of training and warfare had effectively shaped her into a well-oiled war-machine. Her hits had been precise, deadly. Kara had spent most of her time ducking away from the onslaught of attacks, fighting for her life while Gemma had barely broken out a sweat, regarding her with a small smile, silent, as she shot of shot after shot, punch after punch, attack after attack.

Nothing like other villains Kara had ever fought. She didn’t engage in any conversations, deadly without the need to play with her food. It was absolutely terrifying.

The end of the fight was sudden.

Kara focused all of her rage, all the power she still had left, barely standing on her shaky legs, on the other woman. Before, her opponent’s attacks had come on so fast she barely had time to avoid them, let alone go into counter-attacks. But by the end, Kara was tired, hurt, and above all, angry. She knew it was time for her to do something, or her fight with Gemma would be her last.

And she wouldn’t lose to any goddess in league with Lex freaking Luthor. And she definitely wouldn’t lose to a carbon copy of Andrea freaking Rojas. If she was going out, it would be on her own terms, and it would mean something. She wasn’t losing to a megalomaniac asshole and his bitchy group of friends. Not in this life. She had survived way too much to die like that.

Her eyes lit up, and with an agonizing scream, Kara unleashed all the stored-up power behind her eyes, the lasers heating up so fast, Kara could barely catch Gemma’s widened eyes, and an object being flung in her direction before they both fell to the ground.

They both hit the floor, the power shooting them both back. Gemma, with scorch marks around her eyes, and Kara with the foreign object sticking out of her body.

After the haze of being thrown against the floor with the power of both a goddess and herself had finally dissipated a little, she could for the first time observe the damage to her own body. That put her off so much that it had taken her a good few minutes to calm down and reassess the situation.

Which brought her to this exact moment.

Kara whimpered as her trembling hands pulled aside some of her own broken skin to find out how to best get the stick out of her body. She almost cried when she saw that the stick had embedded itself deep enough into her body to pull some of the surrounding skin into the wound with it.

Kara knew from one glance that pulling the stick out would be a torturous endeavor.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Okay.”

What would Alex do?

Well, Kara mused, Alex would probably be way better prepared than she was, and she’d have all sorts of antiseptics and tweezers and what not to clean out the wound as best she could.

Kara had brute strength and a whole lot of bravery on her side. It’d have to do.

Kara clenched her hands a few times, breathing hard. She glanced over at Gemma. Still unconscious, she thought. She wasn’t about to go over and check.

Kara moved her hand to hover over the stick, and with a quick, dry sob and a few whispered words to Rao, she took a hold of it.

And instantly let go, because the effect was instantaneous.

The move alone made the stick move around minimally in the wound, and caused shooting pains to claw through her body.

“Rao,” Kara whispered through clenched teeth, tears of pain shooting in her eyes.

Kara looked up at the ceiling of the abandoned warehouse she was currently in. She didn’t remember how exactly they’d gotten here – she’d been too busy scrambling out of the way of Gemma’s incessant attacks – but for the first time, she noticed the still blue summer sky peeking through the holes in the roof.

She was sure it was probably around 6 pm -ish, but luckily, the days were growing longer, and Kara could use the sunlight to study her wound more closely.

“Oh God,” Kara whispered, looking at the stick still firmly lodged in her flesh. “Oh God, oh Rao, oh God.”

She had to get it out. She had to find Alex before she did something she would regret. She had to. But the pain…

Kara’s stomach turned at the sight of more blood – Rao, how could there be more? – seeping from the wound, coating the wooden stick in a darker scarlet color.

Maybe she just wasn’t brave enough. But maybe, Kara thought hopefully, just maybe, the Kryptonite embedded in the stick was so insignificant, she could still fly up. After all, she hadn’t completely lost her powers yet. Maybe, if she could just fly to their makeshift D.E.O. office, they could get it out for her. If she was just fast enough. If she could just…

Kara slowly tried to push herself up on one foot, but before she could even lift her body one inch above the ground, a white-hot flare of pain shot through her body, setting all her nerve ends on fire. Kara screamed as she fell back against the wall, remembering just in time to cover her mouth with her arm so her screams wouldn’t disturb Gemma.

The pain pulsed heavily through her abdomen, and Kara felt her skin get uncomfortably wetter with a new steadily accumulating rush of blood. In a way, she was lucky the wood clogged up the wound, keeping her from potentially bleeding to death, she thought. Still, the longer the Kryptonite was in her body, the worse it would get.

She should’ve known that stick wasn’t just any old piece of wood. With pained tears in her eyes, Kara cursed Gemma and Leviathan, and all those other monsters that had anything to do with them, and most of all, she cursed Lex freaking Luthor for never, ever just letting her live.

Kara let her head fall back against the cold stone wall, barely suppressing a hopeless whimper.

She had to get it out. But she was all alone, stuck without her phone or any other way to contact her friends. It had been smashed into pieces when Gemma rammed into her at the start of their fight.

Then, she felt a tiny, rhythmic ticking in the invisible breast pocket of her suit. With trembling fingers, she let her fingernail go over the thin opening, and fished out a minuscule blue earpiece.

Eliza.

Brainy had given it to them for Christmas last year. Eliza complained that she was always scared and out of the loop because she could only contact Kara on her phone, which she didn’t have on her half of the time. So, Brainy had gone to his lab and produced that tiny device. A way for Eliza and Kara to contact each other, he’d explained, that didn’t need cellular service or wifi to connect. That way, they could connect whether Kara was high up in the sky, at work, or at the fortress of solitude. Eliza and Kara had had a lot of fun trying to find out where on the planet Kara could be that she could still get in contact with Eliza.

It had always been a fun, if not reassuring device, that kept Eliza updated and her fears abated, while Kara didn’t have to feel guilty if she missed any of Eliza’s worried calls. And that way, if Eliza was ever in trouble, Kara could be there in seconds, as Eliza carried it as a necklace.

But now… now that Kara had no way to contact anybody anymore, too weak to even crawl to her feet, the device was a godsent.

She quickly activated the device – almost dropping it twice because her fingers were so shaky – and put it in her ear.

“Eliza,” she whimpered shakily.

 _“Kara?”_ Eliza asked. _“Kara! Oh thank God you’re alright. Sweetie, they just showed your fight on TV and it looked awful! Oh, I was so worried! You don’t know how relieved I am to hear your voice! I knew you’d be alright – but oh God, it looked so horrendous! And then the camera’s couldn’t find you and – oh honey, I was so worried!”_

Kara couldn’t help but smile a watery smile at the sound of Eliza’s rambling. Sometimes she wondered if she hadn’t gotten her talkative quality from her adoptive mother.

_“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Is Alex there with you? And Nia? J’onn?”_

“Eliza…”

_“Did you take the woman into custody? Does the D.E.O. have everything under control? Honestly, I hate this so much. Are you resting right now – you should be resting! Take a bath, make sure you’re okay, no more superheroing for the day! Just relax, have some dinner and an early night!”_

“Eliza…”

“ _I mean it, Kara, that woman came at you hard! I was so worried and then_ – Oh no! Bad cat, bad cat!”

“Eliza?” Kara asked. “What’s going on?”

 _“Oh,”_ Eliza sighed. _“I was just in the middle of baking a pie and I left the window open for the smell, you know? But then the radio said you were fighting some woman, so I rushed to the TV to see, but apparently, the neighbor’s cat got inside again.”_

Eliza huffed on the other end of the line.

 _"You'd almost think they don't feed that animal with all the food it's stolen from our house,"_ Eliza grumbled, but an affectionate tone in her voice told Kara that maybe she didn't mind it all that much.

Kara tried to sit up but winced in pain when even the slightest movement shifted the staff torturously inside her body.

“What kind?” Kara rasped. “What kind of pie were you making?”

 _“Just a simple apple pie,”_ Eliza said, ruffling in the kitchen. _“I thought I’d stop feeling sorry for myself and would just do something, you know.”_

“That’s nice,” Kara said, tears jumping in her eyes, already imagining the scent of Eliza’s warm Midvale home, where the scent of oven-baked pies, clean sheets and Eliza’s perfume and fresh-cut flowers made all of her problems seem a little further away. She thought of Streaky, licking their plates clean. Of warm freshly-baked pie after a bad day at school. Of long afternoons by the sea, reading books and watching Alex surf. She thought of home.

So very far from the abandoned, cold warehouse she was in right now.

Apparently, Kara hadn’t been able to keep the tears from clouding her voice. It was like it all came down so fast and hard, and the desperation and hopelessness just overcame her all at once.

Eliza fell silent too.

 _“Kara?”_ she asked tentatively. _“Sweetheart, are you okay?”_

Kara took a deep shuddering breath before she let out a watery laugh.

“I, ehm,” she whispered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, “I don’t know. I – I…”

She swallowed her pain and looked at the foreign object lodged deep inside her body.

“I just… I think I’m in trouble, Eliza.”

To her credit, Eliza didn’t immediately burst out into a frantic hysteria-induced freak-out. Instead she stayed calm. Very calm.

 _“What kind of trouble?”_ she asked gently, carefully.

Kara sniffed and shook her head.

_“Baby?”_

“I don’t know,” Kara said, looking up to get those damn tears to subside. “A whole lot of trouble, Eliza. I messed up.”

 _“That’s okay,”_ Eliza said quickly. _“That’s okay, we all mess up sometimes. It’s fine, it’s okay. We just need to look forward so we can see how to get out of the mess, instead of staying stuck in it. Right?”_

“Right,” Kara mumbled.

_“Okay, good. Now can you tell me what’s wrong? What kind of trouble you’re in?”_

Kara thought of Alex. Stuck in her pursuit of a murder Eliza didn’t even know had taken place yet. Kara thought of Jeremiah, all alone in those mountains, helping people, probably dreaming of the day that he’d see his wife and daughters again. How he must’ve died, clutching his heart, realizing that that day would never come.

 _“Kara?”_ Eliza asked, a slight edge in her tone. _“Kara, are you still there?”_

“I’m here,” Kara whispered through her tears. “I’m still here.”

_“Sweetheart, please tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me, honey – I… I don’t know how to help you.”_

An idea struck Kara. Maybe her device could only connect with Eliza, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be helpful in other ways.

“Eliza,” Kara said hurriedly. “Can you call J’onn?”

 _“J’onn?”_ Eliza asked confused. _“What – why?”_

“Eliza, it’s important. Can you call him and tell him to get to the Luthor mansion?”

_“Kara, what’s going on? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Is that woman – ”_

“Please, Eliza,” Kara cut her off. “It’s really important you tell him to go to the Luthor mansion. It could help Alex.”

 _“Alex?”_ Eliza asked suddenly. _“What’s wrong with Alex? Is she okay? Was she attacked? What happened to Alex?”_

“Eliza,” Kara interrupted her. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

 _“Kara, what’s going on?”_ Eliza asked, sounding more scared and desperate than she had in a really long time. _“Kara, please!”_

“We’re going to be fine, Eliza,” Kara promised her. “Just, please get J’onn to the mansion. Please. I swear I’ll explain everything when we’re done.”

 _“Kara,”_ Eliza whimpered softly on the other end of the line. “ _Please tell me you’re okay. Don’t do this to me. Don’t scare me like this.”_

Kara took a deep breath and looked down at the gnarly wound again. She looked up and tried to smile.

“I’ll be fine, Eliza. You know me. Indestructible, remember?”

Eliza made a hurt sound, and Kara’s heart clenched at the thought of lying to her mother.

 _“Now,”_ Eliza managed to say after a beat in which she had to regain her bearings, _“you and I both know that that’s not true.”_

Kara closed her eyes and let a tear run down her cheek.

“Please, Eliza,” she whispered.

 _“I’ll call J’onn. But Kara,”_ she paused, and Kara listened, not saying a word. “ _Please be careful. I can’t lose anyone else right now, you hear? Least of all you or Alex.”_

Kara nodded, before she remembered Eliza couldn’t see her.

“Yeah,” she said, sniffling. “Yeah, I know. It’s all going to be fine. I love you.”

 _“Oh honey,”_ Eliza whispered softly. _“I love you too. So much.”_

Kara smiled brokenly before she had to cut the conversation off.

“I have to go now, Eliza. I’ll call you… after.”

_“Don’t call. Come home… after.”_

Kara clenched her eyes shut.

“Will do, Eliza. Gotta go. Bye.”

_“Goodbye, darling. Please be care- ”_

Kara quickly tapped the earpiece, ending the conversation. She couldn’t prolong the pain any longer.

While J’onn would be contacted, Kara couldn’t be sure he’d get there fast enough. If at all. And if Alex was even still fine at all. She needed to get up. She needed to help. But just the thought of having to touch that stick again to get it out of her body made her so nauseous she had to repress the sudden urge to throw up.

The pain had been so intense, so all-consuming, she wasn’t actually sure she could stay conscious pulling the thing out herself. She had to get a medic.

All of a sudden, her head snapped up when she heard the high-frequency alarm that could only be from one possible source in National City.

“Lena’s watch,” Kara whispered.

Lena hadn’t thrown it away then. She hadn’t trashed it when she finally confronted Kara like Kara thought. She’d held on to it. She’d held on to Supergirl.

But the alarm also meant something else.

“Lena,” Kara whispered.

Lena was in danger.

Kara knew that Lena Luthor, the most stubborn person she knew besides Alex, would never voluntarily call Kara to help her if it wasn’t extremely important. Something awfully wrong must’ve happened for Lena to activate her watch. And if Lena was with Lex, like Kara suspected… Lex had made a move. And if the alarm was really being activated from the Luthor mansion like Kara suspected, both Alex and Lena were in incredible danger.

Kara looked down at the stick sticking out from her abdomen and clenched her jaw.

There was no time to lose. Lena was in danger, Alex was about to do something stupid, and Kara would rather die than let a stupid, goddamn useless stick stop her from saving her sister and her best friend. She didn’t need a doctor, she didn’t need the D.E.O., and she didn’t need anybody else.

She could do this. She’d been through way worse, she thought. She suspected, at least. This should be nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Kara took a deep breath, and before she could overthink it, wrapped both her hands around the stick in one fluid motion and pulled.

Kara released a blood-curling scream but didn’t stop her actions.

The pain was excruciating. It felt like her body was screaming at her, fighting with her body and nerve endings in a battle neither could really win. It was like her body had already accepted the staff as part of itself, and was refusing to let it go without a fight. Even if killed Kara in the process.

It felt like lightning was coursing through her body.

Kara sobbed and screamed as her hands pulled at the stick with all the strength her shaking arms could still produce. The sharp sting from the initial pull was replaced by an even worse dull, unending wave of agony. As she pulled, never budging or even pausing, her skin tore further, and the wound made an awful slurping sound, releasing the stick almost reluctantly like her flesh wanted to come out with it.

Kara gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her cheeks, making progress only by the millimeter. But with each darkened sliver of wood she pulled out of her body, she felt progress. She felt success. She felt exactly like Eliza had said: like she was moving forward. She wouldn’t give up until that piece of wood was nothing more than a bunch of splinters on the floor.

Finally, freaking Rao-be-praised finally, almost four inches of solid strengthened wood came out of Kara’s abdomen, and she almost cried in relief when she watched the blood-soaked weapon leave her body.

The second it was out, Kara let the stick clatter to the ground, leaning back against the wall with a grateful sob. Her body throbbed with unbearable, torturous pain, only subsiding a little with her attacker finally at a distance.

It was over. It was all over. It was out, Gemma was unconscious, and she was okay. She was fine. She was alive, she was fine.

She had to go help Alex and Lena. She had to go.

Kara allowed herself one more moment of relief, resting against the wall with tears straining against her eyelids before she forced herself to stand up on shaky legs. She paid her open wound no mind, as, without the embedded Kryptonite, it would close on itself in minutes. She just grabbed a cloth handkerchief she’d carried with her and stuck it under the broken fabric of her suit like a make-shift patch-up. It would at least soak up the bleeding, she thought.

While she wasn’t sure the hastily set up offices and cells of their ‘new’ D.E.O. were even capable of holding her, Kara decided to at least give them the benefit of the doubt. She grabbed Gemma, who was thankfully still very much out of it, and with a pained groan – man, that stick had done a number on her – she lifted her up into the sky.

First stop, D.E.O. Next stop, Lena and Alex.

* * *

When Kara landed on the Luthor property just on the edge of National City, she was out of breath.

Something didn’t feel right. Her hands were clammy, there was an uncomfortable wetness stuck to the hairs in her neck, and her head was throbbing. She felt shaky when she actually landed, and the world around her seemed to be a little dark around the edges.

Still, Kara wouldn’t let it deter her. She shook her head before trying to steady herself, and with a steely glare, made her way inside the mansion.

She expected to be attacked almost immediately, but to her great surprise, the entrance hall was empty. So were the rooms on the first floor just above the spiraling, imposing staircase, a quick glance with her x-ray vision confirmed. It was deathly quiet between the stone walls of the Luthor mansion.

Kara frowned, and carefully, cautiously, moved forward. Past the numerous creepy portraits hanging on the walls in the halls – generations of Luthor patriarchs and matriarchs, all with stern, disapproving frowns on their faces, as if they were glaring at her, knowing she shouldn’t be there.

The mansion was gigantic and looked more like a glorified maze than an actual place to live. Creepy staircases leading to endless rooms, that Kara was sure couldn’t all be in use. Foyers and living rooms, decorated with old-timey furniture. Kara wondered what it would be like to grow up in a place like that. It seemed to come straight out of a haunted-house movie. She didn’t think she’d sleep a wink in any of these rooms in the mansion, no matter how big or how luxurious they might be.

The thought of a young, tiny Lena, buried under her blankets, eyes squeezed shut, petrified of the huge shadows of the old Luthor relics in the mansion was an uneasy thought that wouldn’t quite leave Kara alone.

Finally, her ears picked up on sounds coming from behind a thick, oak door. The sound was somehow muffled, quieter, hard to hear, even for someone with superpowers like Kara.

It didn’t matter, Kara thought grimly. She recognized Lex’s voice in the room, and she could almost feel Lena’s heartbeat thumping faster than usual. Lena was in there. And if she was in there, then maybe Alex was too.

With cold determination, Kara took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

She was hit with about a thousand sensations all at once.

The room was so overwhelming, she didn’t know what to focus on first. The room was warmer than the rest of the house, due to the wooden paneling on some of the walls, and burgundy wallpaper on others. The scarlet carpet on the floor was probably worth a fortune, and Kara almost felt bad about walking on it with her boots, suppressing the urge to take them off and place them by the door.

Almost.

But the huge contrast to the antique-filled room was probably the insane outlay of modern tech on the left side of the wall. Huge screens, control panels, L-pads… It all stood in sharp contrast to the old sofas and hand-stitched throw pillows on the uncomfortable looking chairs.

But Kara didn’t let herself get too distracted by the odd room. Her ears immediately singled out Alex’s heartbeat, and Kara quickly turned her head.

“Alex,” she said relieved, as her eyes scanned Alex’s body, still sitting in the chair.

She was relatively unharmed, save for an ugly bruise on the side of her head.

Alex’ wide eyes seemed to do a scan of their own, and they did not seem to like what they were seeing. Kara could only imagine. Her suit was stained with her own blood, she was sure her entire face was a mess, and she wasn’t so sure she was walking in a straight line either.

Kara forced herself to stop worrying about Alex and finally fixed her eyes on the Luthors in front of her.

Lex was standing by the screens, typing away as if he didn’t even notice her. Lena, on the other hand, looked terrified. She was sat in a chair – bound at her waist to the back of the chair. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

“I’m sorry,” Lena suddenly choked out. “I’m sorry, I tried – I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kara quickly reassured her. “I’m here.”

That didn’t seem to reassure Lena in the slightest, and the other woman bit down a sob.

“Supergirl,” Lex said, tapping away on his L-pad, finishing something up before he finally turned to look at her. “How nice of you to finally show up.”

Kara narrowed her eyes.

“It’s over, Lex,” she rasped. “Gemma Cooper is locked up in a cell by now, Leviathan is done for.”

“Is she now?” Lex asked politely.

“Let Lena and Alex go and surrender,” Kara forced out, a little breathlessly. “You and I both know Leviathan won’t be able to handle the loss of their leader. Your coalition is dead!”

“Hmm,” Lex hummed. “Yes, I don’t think I’m going to do that just yet. I think I might have to see how things turn out.”

“What are you talking about?” Kara shook her head. “The Obsidian Launch has been cancelled. The product is dead. Andrea’s sealed the project, no one will be able to access the VR world! Leviathan’s lost. You’ve lost!”

Lex hummed and looked Kara up and down.

“Are you sure about that, Supergirl? Because it seems to me, I only have to outlast you.”

“What?”

Lex meaningfully looked Kara up and down.

“You’re not looking so great, Supes. Did someone get a little hurt in a fight?” he mocked.

“I’m fine,” Kara said, but she knew something was wrong.

She usually healed so quickly, she barely even registered any soreness after the wound had been treated. But she’d gotten the staff out minutes ago, and the pain hadn’t subsided. In fact, Kara felt cold and sweaty, and she didn’t even dare look down to see the state of her wound. Maybe if she could just ignore it, it would heal on its own.

“Let me guess,” Lex drawled. “You were doing just fine but then someone decided to stab you with a staff.”

Kara froze. “How do you know about that?”

Lex grinned and bared his teeth.

“Apparently Leviathan got a little tired of you always crushing whatever – and whoever – they threw at you. I merely offered to make them something… a little more practical.”

“You designed the staff?” Kara rasped.

Lex just smiled in response and took a small step forward, hands clasped behind his back.

“You don’t look too well, Supergirl,” he said with faux-concern.

“I’m fine,” Kara bit back, but when she glanced at Alex, she could see her own fears mirrored in Alex’s eyes.

“Really,” Lex said politely. “Cause you look a little pale there, Supergirl.”

“I’m fine,” Kara repeated, but she sounded a lot less certain than before. “I’m fine,” she mumbled to herself.

“Glad to hear it, Supergirl.”

He gently, almost in a relaxed way, pressed a button on his panel. By the way he pressed it, it could’ve easily been a light-switch. The button of an air-conditioner.

Instead, Kara realized he’d set everything up hours beforehand. The only thing he needed to do, was turn the thing on.

At first, Kara didn’t feel a thing. But as Lex stared expectantly, almost hungrily up at her, she knew something was wrong. Lena’s terrified look just confirmed it.

A heavy weight, almost like the sluggish feeling she got before a nap fell over her. Her reflexes became slower, her eyelids heavier, and a part of her brain felt fuzzy.

“Kara?”

“Kara!”

She could vaguely make out Alex and Lena’s worried shouts, but all she could focus on was the greedy expression in Lex’s eyes, as he stared at unblinkingly, trying to make out every move and every reaction.

“What… what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Lex said. “Whatever you’re feeling, you’ve got your best gal pal to thank for it.”

“Kara, I didn’t know!” Lena cried out. “I didn’t, I swear!”

“It’s okay,” Kara tried to say, but the words felt heavy in her mouth. “It’s fine.”

“What you’re feeling right now, Supergirl,” Lex explained, “are the slightly tweaked effects of Lena’s Non Nocere project. Simply put, it removes people’s ability to inflict pain and hurt on others. Or, in this case – ”

He crouched down a little, and Kara didn’t even know she’d sunken down until Lex came face to face with her.

“Taken all your abilities to hurt anybody else away.”

He smiled.

“It’s Lena’s project, molded and adapted just for you. Well, you and all other trespassing aliens.”

Lena sobbed.

“I’m so sorry,” she whimpered. “Kara, I am so, so sorry.”

“Hush Lena,” Lex said irritated. “We don’t have time for your weepy nonsense. Supergirl here has other things on her mind.”

“Kara, I swear I didn’t know – I didn’t – ”

“Lena,” Kara managed to choke out. “S’not your – ”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lex rolled his eyes. “I didn’t invite you over here to get all mushy, Supergirl. I’m not interested in you friendship drama. I just wanted to see if it worked, and well…”

He appraised her for a short time before he slowly balled his hand into a fist and pulled his arm back. Kara’s eyes widened, and she quickly tried to strike him back, to block him, anything – and was horrified to find her hand could only hover in mid-air.

Lex’s grin spread all over his face before he slowly brought his fist to her injured stomach and pushed.

Kara screamed.

Her wound seemed to have been lit on fire. The hurt spread through her body, to her brain, making her unable to think of anything else than the desperate wish to make it stop.

“Stop it!”

“Lex, stop it please!”

“Stop!”

“Leave her alone!”

“Get the fuck away from her!”

None of Lena's or Alex’s objections could persuade Lex to stop. The glint in his eyes was all the confirmation Kara needed to know that he was enjoying this. He loved watching her suffer. He loved to know that he was the one inflicting such horror and such pain on a girl he saw as his enemy.

She tried to push Lex away, but her hands could do nothing more than plant themselves against his shoulders, shuddering with the effort to get him the hell away from her, yet failing to do so all the same.

Mercifully, he pulled his hand away after a short while. He stepped away, and Kara’s hands dropped to the floor, almost like she was praying. Blood rushed to the wound, pulsating uncomfortably in the wound.

Kara panted harshly, feeling the unimaginable throbbing where the staff had been embedded just minutes before.

Lex wiped his hand on a handkerchief embroidered with his initials before turning around to face Lena, whose tear-streaked face and red-rimmed eyes regarded Kara with such sorrow and regret, that Kara wanted to reassure her. Wanted to tell her that she was fine.

Unfortunately, she was too busy wheezing, and hoping her body could stabilize itself once again to do so.

“Guess it works,” Lex said casually.

Lena slowly lifted her head to look at him. Hatred radiated from every cell of her body.

“You’re sick,” she snarled. “You’re a sick fucking psycho, and I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!”

“Oh, Lena,” Lex said and shook his head. “Kids,” he pointed at Lena while he looked at Alex, “am I right?”

“Fuck. You,” Alex spat out. “I am going to fucking kill you for this.”

“Always the threats of violence,” Lex clacked his tongue. “Do you not see how very alive your sister is? Am I grabbing my kryptonite gun? Am I aiming at her head?”

He shook his head.

“Though, I have to admit I’ve thought about it, sure. The thought of shooting Supergirl between the eyes is attractive, that’s for sure. But unfortunately,” he turned to Kara, “I’ve noticed that you have the annoying tendency to get back up every time. You just won’t stay dead.”

“Oh, so sorry… to be… an inconvenience,” Kara rasped, clutching her wound with her lower arm while struggling to get back on her feet.

Lex waved her concerns away.

“Don’t worry, Supergirl. I’ve thought of an entirely new way to deal with you. One,” he said with an eerie glance in his eyes, “that’ll definitely leave an impression on you.”

Kara steeled herself.

Lex pressed the button of the intercom, and two men came through the doors, carrying what seemed like a big glass box through the room.

It seemed like Kara wasn’t the only one who was confused, because Lena had stopped crying and was looking at the box with a puzzled frown.

The men sat the box down in the middle of the room, not too far from where Kara was standing.

Kara looked at the white streamlined design. Looking closer, it wasn’t just glass. It was some thick opaque design, that ended in a more rounded tip. It looked a bit like a big bullet. The top was completely see-through, but there was nothing inside. No weapons, no people, nothing that could be used to hurt Kara. She could see the bottom of the contraption, which was made out of white, strong material.

Kara looked from the glass box to Lex as he tilted his head.

He was waiting for her to get it.

But to Kara, it just looked like a glass coffin.

“Has it sunken in yet, Supergirl?” Lex asked from behind her, but Kara couldn’t answer.

She looked the design over, but it didn’t look like anything she recognized. While it most definitely seemed modern, like a state-of-the-art invention, there were no buttons or signs indicating its purpose. Whatever it was used for, it had to be remotely controlled.

Suddenly she heard Lena behind her whisper a disbelieving “no.”

Kara blinked in confusion as she turned to look at her friend, who in turn was looking at her brother with horror in her eyes.

“No,” Lena repeated, shaking her head. “You can’t – no!”

Lex didn’t address her. He kept his eyes trained on Kara, eagerly awaiting her findings.

Kara turned to the box.

An icy feeling wrapped itself around her heart. What could be so monstrous that it would move Lena so? What could be a punishment so harsh – worse than death? How could Lex hurt her beyond all rational thought?

She looked at the box. A coffin.

A flash of a memory jumped through her head.

A memory of a coffin, much like this one, but so much more decorated, so much more comfortable. Made with the greatest care by parents who were driven mad by the thought that their daughter could perish in the destruction of a planet. A comfortable bed made especially for her, waiting to take her somewhere far, far away. A construction her parents had seen as their salvation, but Kara had come to regard as her worst nightmare.

 _For a long trip,_ her mother had whispered through her tears, her words almost muffled by the loud sounds of an exploding planet. _To keep you safe._

“No,” Kara whispered, as pure dread filled her body. “No,” she shook her head, taking a step back. “No.”

“Lex, please!” Lena cried.

A pod. A spaceship. A one-way ticket to leave earth.

“Have you figured it out yet, Supergirl?” he asked.

“No,” Kara whispered, her legs shaking. “No, you can’t.”

“I designed it especially for you, Supergirl,” Lex boasted. “Enough fuel to get you far away from here.”

Kara shook her head, as her breathing grew shallower, as the world swam around her, as she could hear her heartbeat irregularly in her ears. Flashes of endless darkness with no hope, no people, no nothing overwhelmed her, and it took a strength she didn’t know she had just to stay on her feet.

“No,” she said, but she couldn’t be sure that anyone else had actually heard her. Her words sounded like hoarse whispers to her own ears.

She became vaguely aware that Alex had caught on too, screaming desperate obscenities at Lex, who shrugged them off, his maniacal grin directed solely at Kara.

“No, I can’t,” Kara shook her head. “You can’t.”

Lex tilted his head slightly.

“Oh but I can,” he said simply.

All of a sudden, two pairs of strong hands grasped her shoulders, squeezing tighter than they even should. The second Kara tried to resist and wring herself loose, her body froze, and the hazy feeling clouded her mind again. She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t resist and she couldn’t fight back.

“No!” Kara cried. “No, let me go!”

“Let her go!”

From the corner of her eye, she could see Alex fight her way out of the last of the restraints that kept her tied to the chair. She wasted no time in running up to one of Lex’s henchmen and jumping on his back, viciously pounding her fists against his head until he shouted out in pain, and was forced to let go of Kara to deal with the relentless, infuriated woman on his back.

Alex didn’t let up once. She scratched, maimed, hurt, and screamed, while Kara tried her best to keep breathing, to go on, to resist the other guy from dragging her to her trap.

But it was all in vain. No matter how strong or trained Alex was, she was hurt and didn’t have any weapons, while the other guy had already pulled a knife out of his pocket, threatening to her in a whole different way.

“Alex!” Kara cried out.

Lex’s invention rendered her completely unable to do anything but obey while her mind was screaming at her to get out, to get away. It made her so sick and desperate she felt like pulling her hair out, crying, screaming, and shouting all at the same time.

“Lex, please!” Lena pleaded, still stuck to her chair, hands wringing against her bindings. “You can’t do this.”

Lex ignored all the screams and continued his explanation as if he didn’t even hear any of it.

“As you can see, Supergirl,” he spoke, as the glass cover lifted soundlessly, opening up like the maw of some prehistoric monster to swallow Kara whole. “It’s all ready for you.”

“Please don’t do this,” Kara begged, struggling to stay on her feet, and not to get captured by the empty box that would kill her in every way but the way it counted. She’d lose her mind in there. She knew it. She already felt her mind go haywire at the thought of spending one second in that box.

“Please, please, please!” Kara begged.

It was to no use.

Alex got trapped in the guy’s arms with a desperate sob, and Kara was pushed inside the cold cage with a single shove. She quickly turned around to sit up, but as she did, the glass panel was already going down.

Kara quickly pushed to get up, to get the glass away from her, but a sudden sharp pain in her abdomen made her double over.

“If I were you, I’d get comfortable, Supergirl,” he pointed at the panel coming down, already crushing the volume of space Kara had to sit.

Kara panted as she tried to claw her way out of the diminishing window of the pod, but one threatening push of Lex’s henchman and her body refused to obey her own orders again. She was forced to lie down so she wouldn’t get crushed between the strong material of the pod.

Her parents had taken every precaution to make the pod as safe and as comfortable as possible. Lex hadn’t shared that sentiment. The pod was cold, hard, and uncomfortable against her body.

She was stuck.

Kara was trapped, in every way imaginable. She couldn’t control her own body, her mind refused to cooperate, and her entire being was trapped in a freaking pod.

Finally, the window closed completely, and Kara freaked.

“Get me out!” she screamed, knocking her fists against the glass wall. “Let me out!”

Lex ignored her, and slowly stepped towards her.

“You might be wondering why you’re so powerless and weak now, Supergirl,” Lex said casually. “I’d like you to know before I send you off on your voyage.”

“Fuck you!” Alex screamed. “Fuck you, let her go!”

Lex shook his head, irritated.

“Your sister is so crass,” he mumbled. “Unbelievably rude. Anyway, I would just like to let you know that the tip of the staff had a little… surprise attached. A fine pebble of Kryptonite, really. It was hidden in a protective layer that would slowly dissolve in one substance.”

He grinned.

“Your blood.”

Kara looked up to him in horror.

“So when you were attacked – ”

“The stick lodged inside my body,” Kara whispered. “The kryptonite is still there? Even after I pulled it out?!”

Lex grinned before his smile grew colder, until his own glee dissipated from his face, making him even scarier than before.

“That’s for corrupting Lena,” he hissed. “That’s for screwing her up. For ruining her. You’ll pay for what you did to my sister.”

“S – screw you,” Kara choked out. “Lena is her own person. I didn’t corrupt her. You’re just angry she’s not a monster like you.”

His eye twitched for a second, and Kara knew she should be afraid, but she’d already lost. And she just needed to win once more. Needed to make it hurt for him.

Unfortunately, Lex’s anger burned shortly before he decided he’d draw out Kara’s own pain instead.

“Would you like to know some of the specifics of the pod you’re in right now, Supergirl?”

“Screw you,” Kara hissed, but the pain in her abdomen seemed to flare up again, and she had to clench her teeth together to keep from screaming.

“Well, you do take after that sister of yours,” Lex scoffed. “But I’ll let you hear it anyway.”

He sank to his knees so he was towering over her head, and Kara felt sick – and not just from the pain.

“Your pod has been designed to be completely undetectable. Thanks to your little frosty hut in the north, I found all the tech I could get my hands on to make sure that no alien ship could ever pick up on your location.”

Kara’s eyes widened.

“Yes, Supergirl,” Lex gloated. “Your little pod will race through space, completely invisible to anyone who could pass you by. You’ll hover there forever. Alone, with this – ”

He pushed a button on a remote and Kara’s body lifted up in utter agony as the pain intensified once again.

“ – to remind you what’s stuck inside of you. The pod amplifies the kryptonite radiation, you see,” he explained casually. Depending on the pressure, you’re going to wish you’d stayed very, very far away from me and my family,” he finished icily. “I did promise I’d make you regret everything, didn’t I?”

Tears of desperation sprung in Kara’s eyes as Lex stood up and walked away.

“The pod is also designed to only pass through our atmosphere once. Upon a possible re-entry – though I fail to see how you’d accomplish that – it’s set to burn up.”

He turned around and clicked on a few buttons so the screens showed the vastness of space, making Kara shudder in her spot.

“You’ll be in space forever, or at least until your body finally decides that dying is easier than just prolonging your agony. But in any case,”

He smiled coldly.

“The world will be rid of you. I will remain the people’s savior, and you’ll have plenty of time to think about how idiotic it was of you to think that you could really take on a Luthor.”

“Lex, this is insane! Let her go!”

Lena was in full panic.

“You know this isn’t right, you can’t just – let her go to Argo, for God’s sake, if you wanted to be rid of her, just let her go there! Don’t do this! Please, I’m begging you!”

“Sorry, sis,” Lex said coldly. “The thing with pests is, you have to eradicate them all at once. Otherwise, they tend to come creeping back into your house.”

He pushed a button, and the pod started to shake, tiny lights turning on on the sides of the pod.

“Alex!” Kara screamed. “Alex, please!”

She pushed at the glass with all her might, but it wouldn’t even budge. All of her muscles strained, pushing against all the sides, trying to find a weak spot. Nothing let up.

“Alex!”

Tears were streaming down her face now.

“Alex, please, no, no, no!”

“Let her go!” Alex cried out, fighting against the man who was holding her. “Kara!”

“Alex,” Kara cried. “I don’t want to go, please, don’t let them take me! I don’t want to leave!”

“I won’t – I’ll find you!” Alex promised tears in her eyes. “Just hold on, I’ll find you. I’ll come get you!”

“No, no, no,” Kara cried. “Please, Rao, no.”

Desperation crushed Kara’s chest, and she felt the heavy weight of hopelessness take over her. Sweat pearled on her forehead, and every time she swallowed, it felt like a huge chunk of something was restricting her airway.

She was going to die in space.

The one death she’d always hoped to avoid. The one place she never, ever wanted to be in ever again. Away from her family. Her home. Her friends.

She’d never see Alex again. She’d never see Lena again. Ever.

Her heartbeat raced in her ears, and Kara forced herself to quiet down. She let out a choked sob before she made herself take one final look at them. If she was going to suffer in space, she needed something to remember them by. Every last look could mean one more second of sanity – of hope – out there.

She looked at Lena, yelling at her brother as he typed away – unbothered.

She would blame herself forever. She would stay stuck in a world in which her abusive brother was king and ruler, and she would never be able to escape his reign.

No, Kara reasoned, that was ridiculous. Her friends were so smart and so capable. Even without her, they’d find a way to expose him. To ruin him. She’d have to have faith in that.

Kara just wished she could’ve really made up with Lena before she left. They were only just starting to talk again. Lena deserved more than that. She deserved to hear that Kara wasn’t mad, that she didn’t think she ever really was. That she was just hurt and missed Lena terribly, and that the moment Lena crossed the threshold of her apartment, Kara felt like the whole world was finally coming together again, and she could breathe for the first time in ages. She wished she could tell Lena that she was a beautiful human being who deserved more love than Kara could ever give her. She wished she could tell her that she’d missed Lena so much, every single day and that she couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.

But right now, she had to settle on sending one last look Lena’s way, trying to convey every word in just that one single look. She wasn’t sure, but she thought Lena had caught her eye for just a split second before Lex got in the way again and the momentum was broken.

Then Kara looked at Alex, her sister.

Her home.

She couldn’t leave now, she couldn’t. It hurt too much. She needed Alex. And Alex would never just allow her to leave. She would come after her. She would never stop trying to get Kara back.

And it wouldn’t work. It would break Alex.

“Alex,” Kara tried to say. “Alex.”

But Alex didn’t stop fighting. Her cries and shouts were almost indistinguishable, as she did everything she could to get to Kara, to save her.

But the regret and the apology in her eyes confirmed what Kara already knew. Alex wouldn’t be able to save her. No one would be.

“It’s okay,” Kara tried to say through her tears. “It’s okay.”

But Alex’s cries were too loud. Kara’s words stayed stuck in her glass container. Her own personal prison.

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s okay.”

Kara closed her eyes as the motor of the pod softly roared to life, announcing her own death.

“It’s okay,” she kept murmuring. “I’ll dream of you.”

“Kara, hold on,” Lena begged. “Please – I – please!”

Kara smiled a watery smile and let out a shuddering breath. The fear clenched around her heart like an iron fist, but Kara wouldn’t let it control her. Not anymore.

If there was nothing she could do, she’d rest. She’d rest.

“It’s okay.”

Right when the pod lifted a couple of inches above the ground, hovering almost gently mid-air, as Kara clenched her eyes shut and whispered the few words she still remembered of the prayer her mother had once taught her, something happened.

Lex looked up for a second, an angry frown on his face as he heard a commotion coming from behind the oak door. His two henchmen hesitated, with the one holding Alex looking nervously between Lex and the door.

It was quiet for one more second in the mansion, and then all hell broke loose.

The door was broken open with a blast, and in stormed M’gann, J’onn, Dreamer, and about fifteen agents previously employed by the D.E.O.

With loud shouting, they made their presence known, yelling all sorts of commands Kara couldn’t make out.

Kara’s eyes sprang open just quickly enough to watch Lena slip out of her bindings – bindings she must’ve loosened up earlier – and in a moment of Lex’s confusion and surprise, she snarled and wrapped the belt she’d somehow managed to undo around his neck.

Lex’s hands grasped at his throat as he made a horrible gurgling choking sound, scratching at Lena’s hands. But Lena was not in a forgiving mood. She snarled as she pulled the belt tighter using all the force she had, making Lex’s face break out in horrible shades of red and purple.

The agents, led by none other than Kelly, ran through the room and the rest of the house, subduing every henchman they came across. Kara could vaguely hear them punch Alex’s guy down, but Kara couldn’t focus.

Her pod was still hovering, still trying to get away.

“Alex!” Kara started shouting. The panic had overtaken her once again. Knowing she could still lose when freedom was just at her fingertips was maddening. Kara couldn’t take it. She was so close. So damn close.

“Alex!” Kara screamed hysterically. “Get me out! Get me out!”

The panic was so all-consuming, Kara felt tears choking her.

“Please, please, please!” she begged. “Alex, Alex!”

Her panic and desperation were too much, and Kara could feel her entire body give up, fighting against forces she couldn’t take on. It hurt, everything hurt, and she was so, so terrified, and she didn’t want to go – and just the thought was miserable and god-awful and –

Kara didn’t even register the gush of fresh air. She didn’t notice multiple hands pulling her out of her coffin. She didn’t hear the agents murmuring that things were going to be alright. She didn’t feel anything, until Alex.

Until she felt Alex’s arms around her, soothing her. Saving her. Helping her.

“I’ve got you,” Alex whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Alex’s tears dripped in her hair as strong hands held her close – too close for comfort, yet not nearly close enough.

“You’re alright, you’re here. You’re not going anywhere. Not ever. Not ever.”

Arms squeezed her so tight it almost hurt. The smell of Alex, comforting familiar Alex – wrapped itself around her and Kara breathed through her panic.

“I’ve got you,” Alex cried. “I’ve got you.”

And Kara believed her.

“Lena,” Kara heard Kelly say. “That’s enough. You’ll kill him, Lena.”

Lex had fallen to his knees, his face turning blue, as his trembling hands weakly tapped at Lena’s hands, trying in vain to get her away from him.

“No,” Lena hissed. “He deserves this.”

“I know,” Kelly whispered. “I know he does. But you don’t deserve to live with his death on your conscience. You deserve better.”

Lena’s hands trembled for seconds more – just seconds in which she debated killing the man who destroyed her life.

“He’s not worth it, Lena,” Kelly said softly.

“No, he isn’t,” Lena agreed, and let go of the belt.

Lex smacked to the ground, gasping for breath like a fish on dry land.

He couldn’t even struggle, or throw Kara a dirty look as he was dragged away by agents, still sputtering helplessly.

Only when he was finally, finally out of the room, Kara relaxed in her sister’s arms.

“Alex,” she whispered hoarsely. “Alex.”

“Right here,” her sister cried. “I’m right here.”

Every word hurt, but Kara managed to choke out her words anyway.

“H-how…?”

“Lena,” Kelly said for her.

Kara tried to turn her head to look at Lena, sitting on the floor, frozen, a haunted look in her dazed eyes.

“L-Lena?” Kara asked.

“She’s been in contact with me from the second she saw that Non Nocere had been activated,” Kelly said proudly.

“H-how?” Kara asked.

With all the eyes on her, Lena managed to shake off the haze and pointed to her ring with a trembling finger.

“It detects movement. I just – it’s nothing, really – I just… used Morse code.”

Kara let out a short gasp that mixed with a tiny disbelieving laugh.

“She did more than that,” Kelly argued. “She told us about the updates to the program that rendered aliens unable to fight back, so we could get our human agents involved. She gave us the codes to disable the house’s security systems and told us where to find you!”

Kelly laughed.

“And all in Morse code. She went so fast we needed four agents to keep up with everything she signed over.”

Lena blushed.

“That’s impressive,” Alex said.

“It’s more than impressive,” Kara said. “It’s heroic! Lena, you’re a genius.”

Lena blushed but shook her head.

“I was an idiot. I should’ve known he’d have more horrible things in store for you. I didn’t think – I didn’t – ”

“You saved us,” Kara said softly. “You’re a hero.”

Lena made a disbelieving sound, and Kara frowned.

“Lena…”

When she caught Lena’s eyes again, tears were sparkling in Lena’s eyes.

“You mean that?” she asked.

Kara nodded and smiled.

“I’ve always known that.”

Lena let out a watery smile and bowed her head, tears rolling over her cheek.

“I’m so sorry for what he did to you,” she whimpered. “So incredibly sorry.”

“S’not your fault. I’m sorry he wasn’t who you thought he was.”

Lena let out a short laugh. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me.”

Kara shrugged, but the movement made her flinch in pain. “I wouldn’t want to believe me either.”

Kara reached out a trembling hand, and Alex shifted so Lena could easily take it. Lena interlaced their fingers, and Kara smiled at her.

And for the first time in a long while, Lena smiled back.

Then Alex spoke up, confused. “But how did you get all these agents, I… I don’t even work for the D.E.O. anymore. It’s Lex’ D.E.O.”

“We were all trained under you, director Danvers,” one of the agents gruffed.

“Or we’ve worked alongside you for a hell of a long time,” Vasquez said with a lopsided grin.

“When Kelly told us you needed us…”

“We help our own,” one of the other agents confirmed. “With or without an actual D.E.O.”

“Can’t believe your ability to be a great boss saved our butts today,” Kara breathed. “Can you imagine what a situation we’d have been in if you’d been a bigger ass to your employees?”

“Hey,” Alex said sharply. “Don’t think that just because you almost died I’m going to let you get away with quips like that.”

Alex hesitated and then she broke again, pulling Kara impossibly closer.

Kara pulled her sister closer by the arm.

“I know,” she whispered. “I know.”

They stayed like that on the ground for a while, until the other agents, under Lena’s supervision, managed to turn off the modified Non Nocere project.

Kara’s power returned with incremental bits, which helped clear her head at least a little. She breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure and the haze finally left her head.

“I thought he just saw it as a pet project of mine,” Lena murmured after a while, still holding Kara’s hand. “Instead he turned it into a weapon.”

Kara squeezed her hand.

“You tried to do good. It doesn’t always go according to plan. I’ll be the first to admit that.”

Lena smiled sadly.

“The superhero life not what you thought it’d be?”

Kara shrugged but quickly flinched as the wound in her abdomen moved with her. Lena quickly reached out to touch Kara’s shoulder, like it would somehow help alleviate the pain.

Somehow, it did. Kind of.

“Never had high expectations,” Kara whimpered, a little paler than before.

“We have to get you out of here,” Lena said, glancing down at Kara’s wound. “If what Lex said is true then – ”

“I’ll be fine,” Kara promised her. “J’onn can just fly me out and then – ”

“Actually,” J’onn spoke up, “I’m not doing that. We’re sending a helicopter equipped with medical equipment. We’re not taking any chances. Not after today. It’ll be here in five minutes. We’re flying you out to doctor Hamilton’s private practice. She’ll patch you up discretely, so don’t you worry, okay?”

Kara nodded.

“By the way,” J’onn gruffed. “You two need to call your mother. She was worried sick. I was almost on my way here when Lena’s warnings came through, so I couldn’t reassure her.”

Alex turned to Kara. “You called mom?”

“Oh,” Kara said softly. “I did. I… I think I might’ve worried her a little.”

Alex stroked her hair.

“That’s okay. When you’re all patched up, we’ll go see her. Okay?”

Kara nodded. “We deserve a break after this year, don’t you think?”

“God, yes.”

J’onn smiled his gentle smile before giving both her and Alex a quick – and in Kara’s case, a careful – pat on the shoulder before moving to help M’gann and the team to collect evidence and whatever else they could find in the mansion.

Alex pressed a kiss to her head.

“I’m going to be there with you the whole time,” Alex promised.

She’d fixed Kara up with a temporary bandage – Kara’s tissue was completely soaked through in a way that had made her want to gag when Alex had pulled it off of her. It had actually gotten stuck in the wound, and if Lena hadn’t been holding her hand, Kara was sure she would’ve have gotten through it. Kara had taken one look at the wound before turning slightly green and absolutely convinced she wouldn’t look at it again.

The wound hadn’t healed but had somehow only gotten more gross and disgusting, with dried up blood and a green shine decorating the hole in her body.

She shook it off and looked at Lena while Alex patched her up.

Somehow, just being close to her after so very long was enough to make everything feel so much lighter, and so much less scary. She didn’t make a sound while Alex worked away, and instead focused on Lena’s eyes. On the curve of her cheek. On the individual lashes she could count. Lena didn’t seem to mind, and stayed with Kara throughout it all, staring at Alex’s dexterous fingers, working to secure Kara. Only when Alex was finally done, she relaxed and sat back.

Kelly was sitting next to them, whispering softly to Alex, the two of them probably needing all the love after that day too.

“Ma’am?”

The four of them looked up to find two agents flanking a terrified-looking Eve – pale and scared, and downright pitiful.

“We found this one trying to scurry away. What do you want us to do with her?”

Kara stretched her neck to look at Alex.

Alex’s muscles were taut, her jaw was clenched, and Kara wondered what was going through her head. She squeezed Alex's arm a little closer.

“Alex?” Kelly asked softly.

Alex let out a slow, shuddering breath.

“Take her away,” she finally said, calmer than Kara had given her credit for. “Have someone else question her. I have more important stuff to deal with.”

The agents nodded before dragging Eve away, while the four of them watched quietly.

“I’m so sorry about Jeremiah,” Lena suddenly said, more to Alex than to Kara. “I didn’t know. I really didn’t. I didn’t think he’d ever…”

Alex clenched her jaw, but Kelly’s hand on her jaw and Kelly’s compassionate understanding eyes seemed to calm her down.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Alex said after a beat. “It was all Lex.”

“And we got him,” Kelly reminded her gently.

“Yeah,” Alex said, shooting a tiny smile Lena’s way. “Thanks to you.”

Lena blushed and shook her head.

“Those were some classy moves, Luthor,” Alex said, a hint of a smirk in her voice. “If you ever decide the business life isn’t your thing, give me a call.”

“What, so I can join your PI office?” Lena shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Kara’s heart soared at the familiar move. That was Lena. That was her Lena.

“So you can join me at the D.E.O. 2.0,” Alex shot back.

“Really?” Kelly asked surprised.

“Oh yeah,” Alex said, stroking Kara’s blonde hair. “But this time, we’re getting rid of all those horrific ads.”

Kara and Lena groaned.

“In no life would I choose to shoot those,” Kara said darkly.

“I cannot believe I ever thought they were a good idea,” Lena agreed.

“Well, I think you both looked great,” Kelly notes before grinning wide. “Very cute with your whole: ‘Serve and Protect’ shtick. Only thing missing was matching outfits.”

Alex laughed while Lena shot Kelly a dark look, while Kara tried – and failed – to look angry. She couldn’t help it. They were all together, quipping and laughing, and it had been so long. So ridiculously long.

She knew nothing was fixed yet. Lex had been arrested, but he was still smart and powerful. Lena was smiling next to her, but there were a million conversations still to be had before they could ever get back to a place of understanding.

But when Kara looked at Lena’s smile, the twinkle in her eyes, when she felt Lena’s thumb stroking the back of her hand, then she knew that for the first time in ages, things were looking up.

“Lena?” she asked suddenly.

“Yes?” Lena said softly, letting Kelly and Alex laugh among themselves.

“Will you stay? After the surgery, I mean,” Kara said quickly.

“That depends,” Lena whispered. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Very much so,” Kara breathed.

Lena smiled.

“Then,” she said with a twinkle in those eyes, “I will definitely stay.”

Kara breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at Lena for a split more second, before she whispered:

“I really, really missed you.”

Lena smiled a sad smile and squeezed Kara’s hand.

“I missed you too.”

Together, just the four of them, they waited patiently for the helicopter to arrive.

Lena didn’t let go of Kara’s hand. Not in the mansion. Not when they put Kara on a gurney. Not even when they were all put in the helicopter. Only after Doctor Hamilton had ordered all of them – except Alex, who had thrown the Doctor one look, and had been allowed to stay much to Lena’s chagrin – did Lena let go. And she only did so after a quick kiss to Kara’s cheek and a murmured goodbye.

Kara smiled. She smiled for a while, not knowing why. She even smiled when she was put under the anesthetic.

When Kara woke up again, groggy and sore and very uncomfortable, she felt displaced, awkward. She wanted to go home.

But when she turned her head to the left, she saw Alex, asleep in one of the chairs. Kelly had draped a blanket over her. The chair next to her was empty though.

Kara swallowed her pain, and moved her head again. Maybe Lena had had other business to attend to. She was busy. Or maybe she was still mad. Or maybe she didn’t want to see Kara and only said she’d stay so as not to upset her. Or maybe…

Kara turned her head fully to the right, and there, right by the side of her bed, curled up uncomfortably in a chair with loose, tangled hair – with a distinct kink where her hair tie had been, a half-open mouth, and bags under her eyes, was Lena Luthor, looking more gorgeous than Kara had ever seen her before.

Kara smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Since the show hasn’t been able to film the last episodes with the whole pandemic, I decided to write my own version to the end of this season. I hope you all enjoyed it! I literally ditched working on my thesis paper for this. But only a little. 
> 
> I pitched this idea to @Melody-Fox and she inspired me to go on, so a huge thank you to her! 
> 
> You can follow me right [here on Tumblr](https://thingsanddreamsandstuff.tumblr.com)  
> If you would like to know what it's like writing stories like this one, here are some songs I listened to when writing special scenes. 
> 
> Kara’s conversation with Eliza: [So big, so small](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vD2JBq0ns8)  
> Kara and the pod: [Jenny of Oldstones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwr3hgaJ30Q) and  
> [I can’t lose you from the Frozen musical](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_DQJ1Wwo&t=12s)  
> Thank you all so much for reading! Stay safe and healthy!


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